rubbing himself on the ground????

[fallen_angel]

I just bought a new male today and he seems perfectly fine (he was just a little cold, but once he warmed up in his new home, he was moving around and exploring)...but I noticed that he is rubbing his lower body all over the ground. Has anyone ever seen this, and if so, what does it mean? I checked his underside and everything looks normal...but it's worrying me a bit..

 

[david13]

is he trying to shed or something? i never heard of this before

 

[fallen_angel]

me neither, and no he isn't, I thought the same thing at first.. it is as if he's trying to shed, but he's only rubbing his lower underbelly in particular.. I hope he doesn't have any diseases or anything

 

[Overkill]

yea funny thing my male also does this and kinda drags himself its funny watching it seems to me he does it to mark the area or something

 

[fallen_angel]

hmm well he is in a new cage so that is a possibility...

 

[david13]

it might be something with his hemipenes or something..about the territory thing, that sounds good but my male never did that

i dont know,thats just a guess

 

[fallen_angel]

a friend has informed me that he has witnessed a few of his males do the same thing after the tank was cleaned, so he most likely is just marking his scent...but now he's also digging around and going crazy, almost as if he were a female that were about to lay eggs...very odd (trust me, he's definitely a male!)

 

[Mel&Keith]

That's how they leave their boy scents places. lol They secrete a waxy substance from their femoral pores so that's what they're rubbing everywhere.

 

[fallen_angel]

thanks so much for the help

 

[Stevie]

The male is rubbing its pre-anal pores to different surfaces. The pores produce a wax like substance which contains different odours (including pheromones) and he's using it to mark his territory. You don't have to worry at all, its perfect natural behavior!

Greets,

Stevie

 

[gothra]

Yeah, they're marking territory. I have a male do it all the time, its hillarious, looks like he is "swimming" across the tank! lol. He not only do it on his tank floor, but also the food dish that I put down and even on my hand.

 

[fallen_angel]

Yeah, it is pretty hilarious!! I can laugh at it now that I know it's not parasites or something!